*I’m thankful today for my pastor, Paul Seay, who wrote Day 28’s post for the Dear Gratitude project.*
“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”—Philippians 4:6 NRSV
Dear Readers,
I don’t know why I am a reluctant blog writer, but for whatever reason, it is difficult for me to take the time to write what’s on my mind. I do have my own blog, “Circuit Writing,” but I write more for “Daily Dose of Gratitude” than I do my own. I think it’s because Bethany gives me a deadline that I have to meet.
Since my assignment is for Thanksgiving Day, I have had the opportunity to read many of your ‘thank you’ letters here and have been reminded of things for which I am thankful. So thank you, dear readers, for opening your hearts and sharing a little about your lives with us.
First of all, I want to thank my wife, Rebecca. When we married she didn’t realize that being the wife of a United Methodist pastor was going to be in the cards, but she has supported my ministry in more ways than most people realize. I certainly have not been the perfect husband, but I try to do better every day. She has forgiven me more than seventy times (or seventy times seven as the King James Version reads), and I am grateful for that. Earl Thomas Conley and Emmylou Harris sang a song, “We Believe in Happy Endings,” and I think that is how Becca and I believe about our marriage and our life together. Our children, Ed and Jeff Seay and Allison and Jeff Chandler are special also. I am proud of the success they have had in their lives and in the ways that they have helped others.
Most of all, I am thankful for God’s Grace. Without His Grace it would have been impossible for me to be doing what I do today. I was called to ministry as a teenager, but ran from my call for nearly 30 years before giving up on myself and allowing God to be God. There were many times that He could have given up on me but our God is a loving and forgiving God who allows us to make mistakes, to fail, and to even turn our back on Him. But as the Apostle Peter discovered as he was trying to walk on water and began to sink, all he had to do was cry out, “Lord, save me!” In our desperation, God is always there, through His Son, Jesus Christ, to reach out and pull us from the deep.
Harold Bales, a retired United Methodist pastor in North Carolina writes a “Daily Nugget” that I read on Facebook each day. This past Sunday he wrote, “Every person is a preacher of one sort or another. How we are observed living is the most genuine indicator of the gospel we embrace. This isn’t only true of clergy. It is true of everyone. Our value systems are always on display. And Thanksgiving is a good time to reflect on these values, give thanks to God for our abundance, and push the reset button on our lifestyles.”
So, Dear Readers, on this Thanksgiving Day as you take a moment to be thankful for the ways you have been blessed. Be thankful for those who God has put into your path for you to influence, and I pray that you influence them in a good way.
In Christ,
Pastor Paul
Gratitude Cup 
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